How did Greta Gustafsson, a shop assistant born into an ordinary working family in Stockholm, transform into Greta Garbo, one of the greatest film stars of all time? And what was she really like as a person? Scott Reisfield, her great-nephew and biographer, tells James Savage that her Swedishness permeated her work and influence on Hollywood.

Link: https://scottreisfield.com/

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AI looks set to cause huge disruption to the world of work and to almost all aspects of our lives. Yet while Sweden is home to some leading AI companies, Swedish politicians are not rising to the major challenges that the technology poses, says author and AI expert Johan Falk to James Savage.

Read more:

Politics in Sweden: Why are Swedish politicians so silent on AI?

Johan Falk's English Substack

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The Local's weekly podcast with news from Sweden. This week, James Savage, Emma Löfgren and Mandy Pipher discuss a new poll of The Local's readers on the highs and lows of living in Sweden. We also talk about what the government hopes to achieve by slashing taxes on fuel and public transport, and on an interview we did with migration minister Johan Forssell.

Read more on the subjects we talk about in this episode:

Swedish migration minister: 'One day you're a Nazi, the next a left-wing activist' 

POLL: Foreign residents love Sweden, but are afraid they'll be forced out

Sweden becomes one of Europe's cheapest countries for petrol and diesel

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Sweden's Nordic editor Richard Orange was in Visby this week at the Almedalen political festival.

One of the many people he spoke to was Niels Paarup-Petersen, who is the migration, education and digitalisation spokesperson for the Centre Party.

On a walk through the city's medieval streets they discussed the chances of the government surviving after the election.

And what would a new government do about transitional rules for citizenship?

Also, are Sweden's political parties too wedded to incremental growth? Is it time to get a lot more ambitious in the age of AI?

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This week host James Savage and regular panelist Richard Orange record the podcast from Almedalen, the annual politics fest in Visby on the Baltic island of Gotland. 

They are joined for a lively politics conversation by Henrik Torehammar, a political commentator for the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper. 

Almedalen is sometime criticised as an event for Sweden's elites, but how elitist can any event really be in what Torehammar calls a "bicycle monarchy" famed for its flat hierarchies? 

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's Moderate Party is edging towards a disastrous election if polls are to be believed. Can he pull a result out of the fire at the eleventh hour? 

The opposition parties look poised to snatch power. But will some pretty major ideological differences act as a stumbling block for the Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson? 

And what issues are likely to dominate in the run-up to the September election. Immigration? Climate? Or could the rise of AI make its presence felt on the campaign trail? 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Why are Swedish politicians so silent on AI?
• Sweden Democrat leader takes aim at Social Democrats in key speech
• Sweden Democrats launch retro election campaign to make 'Sweden like Sweden again'
• More than half of voters think Sweden's government will lose election
• Stay on top of the Swedish election: How to follow The Local's coverage

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Earlier this year the Fair Transition campaign group tried to convince Swedish decision makers to introduce transitional rules for the citizenship reforms which came into force on June 6th.

Two months have now passed since the Swedish parliament voted against transitional rules by the smallest of margins after the far-right Sweden Democrats sent in two MPs who were supposed to be withheld from the vote.

So what now for the campaigners fighting on behalf of the 100,000 citizenship applicants waiting in the citizenship queue? 

The Local’s editor Emma Löfgren caught up with the group's spokesman Patrick Gallen to find out more about Fair Transitions plans as they prepare to mount a legal challenge in Sweden's migration courts.  

READ ALSO:

• Sweden Democrats accused of cheating to block transitional rules for citizenship

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This week we talk about the Swedish culture of long summer holidays and how to make the most of them.

Also: parliament has passed a law that will make it possible to revoke residence permits for “poor conduct”. Now that it has passed, will you live to regret that speeding fine?

Why is the government pressing ahead with plans for mandatory ‘language preschools’ for children who don’t speak good Swedish, despite an official investigator saying that the idea was legally and practically difficult, and possibly discriminatory?

And we look at how the government is finding it ever harder to get its agenda through parliament, as their plans to let 13 year olds go to jail were defeated.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Mandy Pipher and Richard Orange. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Swedish parliament votes to revoke residency permits over 'poor conduct'

• Do I get a day off in Sweden at Midsummer?
• What's open and what's closed in Sweden during Midsummer?

• Sweden tightens residency rules, but opposition's challenge delays child detention bill
• Closed-doors agreement on Sweden's parliamentary pairing row collapses
• Swedish government to push ahead with mandatory language preschool despite legal warnings

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Sweden's teen deportations have affected young people who live in Sweden and whose parents have the right to be in Sweden, but who themselves no longer meet the requirements for a residence permit.

After sustained public outcry, media reporting and opposition pressure, Sweden's government announced relief measures on June 1st. 

These included the option for young adults who came to Sweden as dependents of their parents to no longer have to leave the country in order to apply for their own permits.

Once this law comes into effect in October, it will have a big effect on young people like 19-year-old Paola Claudio.

Despite having lived in Sweden with her family since she was 15 and being in full time studies at Stockholm's prestigious KTH University, she had to interrupt her studies at exam time in order to make a last minute round trip to Mexico or risk being issued with a deportation order.

The Local’s Mandy Pipher caught up with Paola Claudio in April to learn more about why she ended up travelling all the way to Mexico once she learned she risked being deported from Sweden. 

READ ALSO:

• Teenager makes round-trip to Mexico to avoid being deported from Sweden

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This week we talk about a security scandal surrounding Prime minister Ulf Kristersson.

And with the men's football World Cup kicking off this week, we assess Sweden's chances. 

We also discuss new restrictions on permanent residency and turbulence on the left side of Swedish politics.

And we have an interview with Liz Stopka from the American Swedish Institute about the history of Swedish emigration to the United States.

Host James Savage is joined this week by panelists Mandy Pipher and Emma Löfgren. 

Here are links to some of the topics discussed in the episode:

• Sweden's Left Party removes local candidates who praised terror groups

• Opinion: Do Sweden's deportations have more parallels to the US than Swedes realise?

• How can you watch the 2026 men's football World Cup in Sweden?

• Swedish parliament approves bill to abolish future permanent residency for refugees

• When will Sweden next raise the work permit salary threshold?
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Sign up here for their live Q&A session on working in Sweden

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Two popular museums in Stockholm are at risk of closure because the government agency that owns the properties is now requiring the museums, which are also run by a government agency, to pay market rents that they can’t afford.

It’s currently unclear if Medelhavsmuseet and Östasiatiska museet will be able to stay open. 

Known in English as The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, and the East Asian Antiquities Museum, the two city centre museums are much-loved destinations for Stockholmers and visitors alike. 

To learn more about their importance, The Local’s Mandy Pipher caught up recently with Ninhursag Tadaros, an Assyriologist and curator who has previously worked with the Mesopotamian collection at Medelhavsmuseet.

READ ALSO:

• Why two iconic Stockholm museums might have to close

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